By Joe Burris, Globe Staff, 2/6/2002

erhaps Patriots fans in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut watched yesterday's Super Bowl victory celebration on television and wondered, ''What about us?''

Don't despair. Following yesterday's event, Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the team will hold festivities in the other five New England states, giving the entire area an opportunity to relish the title.

''This is a championship for the entire New England region, all six states,'' said Kraft as he walked off the podium at City Hall yesterday following a celebration that was attended by more than a million people, according to Boston Police estimates.

''We plan to visit all the states with the trophy. This is for the people of the whole region.''

Yesterday was Boston's turn to bask in the spotlight with a boisterous celebration that was one of the most memorable in New England sports history.

Kraft, a native of Brookline, said he attended Celtics championship celebrations in years past but stopped short of comparing yesterday's event to those.

''I don't want to do that. You can do that better than I can,'' he said. ''All I will say is that I hope that this is the beginning of a new sports era.''

Among the players in attendance was second-year tight end Jermaine Wiggins of East Boston, who waved an oversized Patriots flag before a crowd of raucous fans.

''Unbelievable - one word describes it all,'' said Wiggins.

Asked how it felt to see thousands of fans lined up from Copley Square to City Hall, he said, ''It means everything. It's a dream come true. There's no greater city than Boston, remember that.''

''I've never seen the outpouring of what I saw today,'' said Kraft, who at one point performed an impromptu dance at the behest of Ty Law - to the delight of the crowd.

The owner also joked that he would trade safety Lawyer Milloy a ring for Milloy's fur coat. Milloy shot back, ''You paid for it.''

Kraft said the Super Bowl conquest not only fulfilled his goal of bringing a championship to New England but also could be a means to unite local communities.

''When we bought this team eight years ago, we wanted to win off the field as well as on the field,'' said Kraft. ''To see the way a community comes together and people of all backgrounds, all ethnic, racial, socioeconomic [backgrounds] all cheering for the team, where it doesn't matter what the background of the individual players are, we've accomplished part of our dream of being able to bring the community together at a time like this.''

Kraft said the team will look to have further impact in the city's communities.

''The power of our players and team to do good in the community, we hope to leverage that in other ways,'' he said. ''I hope everybody felt good today with this experience. People are just ecstatic, and that makes our family feel very special.''